Kevin Costner on His ‘Fearless’ Life, Family and Returning to the Spotlight

Call it the softening of Kevin Costner. When asked about his new History miniseries, Hatfields & McCoys,
the actor steers the conversation to a discussion of the grueling
85-day shoot in Romania and how the protracted absence from home took
its toll.

“I had already been on the road for a month with my [country rock]
band in Europe,” says Costner, 57, who has three children under the age
of 5 with wife Christine Baumgartner, a former model.
“Basically, I went right to Romania, started filming at the end of
September and went into December and only had 10 days when I came home
because I was just starving [for family love]. You get lonely. You get
terribly lonely.”

Costner, lonely? The actor-director, who broke out as the handsome star of 1987’s The Untouchables and No Way Out,
is regarded as many things — but a softie, usually, is not one of
them. Indeed, when this reporter skirts some highs and lows of his long
career during our interview May 18, Costner levels his dark blue eyes
with a hint of danger.